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“So, what’s your
big plan for 31st night?” Either some have,
already, asked you this question; or, you have, already, asked this to some… ‘Big plan’, here,
invariably, means a ‘big party’… Yes, the New-year party! Well, though many
around me still ask me this question, I have, somehow, stopped asking this to others…
There is hardly
any sense in it… hardly any meaning.

I have given my
students a holiday on 31st and 1st. They are very, very
happy. “Happy New-year to all of you,” I wished them, when they left, this
morning. “Happy New-year
sir,” the response was resounding! “Sir, what is the
big plan for 31st?” some asked me… “Go, enjoy
yourself; have fun,” I smiled without answering their question. Now, I will be
meeting them, directly, on 3rd January… that is, in the ‘new year’… What difference
will I see in my students, and what difference will they see in me? I am shaking my
head... and smiling! I will be 57 in
the new-year. So, I will be witnessing this so-called new-year …

“In
Life, if we can turn our hobbies into our professions,” the famous line reminds
us, “we do not have to ‘work’ at all!” But, many of us
may not be so lucky. We do have our hobbies; but, they aren't our professions… So, I, always, tell my friends and students this: “Never
ever give up your most intimate hobbies… They will help you enjoy your work;
they will help you do away with your stress; they will keep you, always, childlike
with curiosity and zest… they will keep you, forever, young and spiritual… Yes,
they will give you a good reason to live, hope, work and love.” A hobby is the only thing that we do with our total heart…
Our passion, enthusiasm and dedication go into it completely… No one needs to
coax us to do it, let alone force… Money and reward are not at all the
concerns; there is nothing to prove to anyone, anything… Out hearts prompt us
to do it, and we just do it… Yes, often, without being worried about our hunger
and time… Without being worried …

Last evening, Vikas, one of the participants of
our on-going Public-speaking course, told us a beautiful story. Once, in a forest, there lived a crow. He had
no worries or complaints and was fully content in life. “I am the happiest bird
in this forest,” he kept reminding himself.

And, then, one day,
the crow saw a swan. “She is so white and beautiful; and I am so black and
ugly,” the crow was now lamenting. With his saddened heart, he said to the
swan, “You have been blessed with such whiteness, beauty and grace, that you
must be the happiest bird in this forest.” “My friend, that’s
how I would think for a long time;” the swan responded, “Then, one day, I saw a
beautiful parrot, and everything changed inside me. The parrot had two colors;
he was gifted to speak; humans loved to take him home and raise him like one of
their own… So, I think, it is not me, but the parrot who is the happiest bird
in this forest.”The crow, thus,
went to meet the parrot. “O beautiful parr…

“I call a spade a
spade.” Whenever someone uses this phrase, I quietly say a prayer for him: “O
Lord, have mercy on my friend; please save him!” Save him from
what? Till someone
doesn't tell this man the same thing, with the same bluntness and arrogance, he
will never realize why, many a times in life, it is not sensible to call a
spade a spade…

I have noticed
this: the guy who makes a big deal about calling a spade a spade, is most
touchy about someone treating him with the same medicine! A gentleman I know
has just started a food business. He sent me some complimentary dishes to taste
which were reasonably good. The other day, I gave him a substantially-large
order. Some of the dishes turned out to be very good, while some, really bad.
Now, he was not my thick friend, nor he was a total stranger. I knew him fairly
well and he sincerely wanted me to give him my feedback, too. Though, for a moment, I felt annoyed and I
wanted to let him know my feelings point-blan…

'Passionate about Life.'... That's how I see myself. For me, the term 'passion' has a special meaning. It is living life with its totality... With all its hues and confusions, with all its triumphs and defeats.
I consider myself as a little kid, still groping in the dark -- trying to find a way out of this great maze. Sometimes, I wonder: whether there is a way out at all? Whether the maze itself is the way?
Thus, as a kid awe-struck by this amazing mystery called LIFE, I have a lot to share with my fellow kids. I believe, it would be an exciting and fulfilling journey, each morning...
I am, indeed, looking forward to each dawn, with fresh eyes... And my fresh note to share...
Love,
GERALD D'CUNHA